Texas Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 48 private colleges in Texas with the lowest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. Rice University leads the list by accepting 8% of high school students that applied.

Acceptance rate is a measure of the competitiveness of a school. Lower acceptance rates are more competitive and may require a higher GPA, SAT/ACT score, and other factors to be considered for admission.

List of Texas Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate
College Acceptance Rate

Houston, Texas

8%

Dallas, Texas

22%

San Antonio, Texas

26%
29%

Longview, Texas

38%
39%

Dallas, Texas

40%

Georgetown, Texas

43%

Fort Worth, Texas

44%

Sherman, Texas

48%

Waco, Texas

51%

San Antonio, Texas

51%

Irving, Texas

53%

Plainview, Texas

56%

Abilene, Texas

57%
58%
63%
66%

This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: March 15, 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.